Founded in 2014, Yacht Harbour has now gone through nearly 3 years of rapid growth, packed with milestones and interesting events. In this list are 11 things about Yacht Harbour that are not widely known, but we thought were interesting enough to share.
#1 Yacht Harbour started as an Instagram channel
Even though Yacht Harbour's initial plan was to build a web platform for a marketplace of yachts for sale, the company started an Instagram account in August 2014 to get some sort of traction, ahead of the launch of its website in December of that year.
At a time when no yachting media companies were on the platform, the strategy proved successful and saw Yacht Harbour get to 10,000 followers in under 4 months. This, in turn, proved instrumental to getting the first users to Yacht Harbour.
#2 We power instant results for a Top 5 search engine
Another little known fact about Yacht Harbour is that the company's index powers an instant result snippet for search engine, DuckDuckGo. One of the 5 available search settings on an iPhone, DuckDuckGo is a search engine built with privacy in mind.
Any user searching for a particular yacht on the platform, will see on top of search results an image of the yacht with it's main specifications, which DuckDuckGo displays using an API built by Yacht Harbour on top of its database for the search engine.
#3 News coverage was first meant as a content marketing play
Even though our audience is now spread evenly across its superyacht marketplace and its news section, Yacht Harbour's editorial coverage was started only in October 2015 to act as a content marketing vehicle for its search platform.
Despite these plans, news coverage rapidly evolved and grew to serve the purposes of a true media company, which Yacht Harbour has since become. Stories broken by our news department are now often used as sources by international media such as the BBC, CNBC and others.
#4 We built a chat bot to answer any yachting question
Developed in a wave of growing excitement over chat bots, Brook became the first chat bot in yachting that used a combination of machine learning, natural language recognition and big data to answer any question related to yacht.
Although Brook was since retired due to a lack of users, Yacht Harbour did manage to build a working version, answering over 80% of asked questions. Its original interface can still be seen here. When live it was even accessible from the Telegram messaging platform.
#5 Our content can be found on Forbes and Business Insider
As part of its content distribution strategy, Yacht Harbour struck deals with Business Insider to distribute part of its English-language content and to contribute stories to the French and Russian versions of Forbes.
With news stories around yachting and articles trying to open up the field to a more general audience, this content was read over 2 million times so far in 2017.
#6 We ran a crowdfunding campaign in our first year
Far from today's peak of attention around ICOs, Yacht Harbour ran a crowdfunding campaign in 2015 as an experiment, ahead of the launch of its charter marketplace to offer heavily discounted deals and lifetime advantages for participants.
Through the campaign, Yacht Harbour raised just under $3,000 from a series of contributors. The value of some the items offered then by Yacht Harbour has grown over 1,000x today.
#7 We get 10 million impressions of our content every month
Having rapidly grown from the 23 visitors Yacht Harbour on the day of it's launch, the company's combined channels now reach over 10 million impressions every month. This figure includes Yacht Harbour's website traffic, social media reach and audience on third-party platforms.
#8 There are sometimes easter eggs on Yacht Harbour
Sometimes overtaken by the holiday spirit, Yacht Harbour's homepage can sometimes change to adopt a special skin for limited times as seen above. So far, the company has dressed up its website for Halloween, Christmas and New Year's Eve but other events may soon be coming.
#9 One million minutes are spent watching Yacht Harbour's videos monthly
Playing an increasingly important role for any media company, videos have been a key to Yacht Harbour's success as well with over 800 days worth of videos being watched on our platform every month. The latest Black Pearl video alone reached over 3 million impressions on our network.
#10 Our Facebook page outranks its nearest competition 10 to 1
Owing much of its success to social media, Yacht Harbour has always tried to dominate the space in the superyacht sector and Facebook is currently the most reflective of this paradigm. Whereas Yacht Harbour gets 36,500 engagements on its page every week, the nearest competition currently sits at 3,300 engagements per week.
#11 It took us over 20,000 hours to build the Timeline platform
A major step forward in yacht search, Yacht Harbour's Timeline platform was launched in May 2017 after over 20,000 hours of research. The platform, compared to a Bloomberg terminal for yachting, lets its subscribers track the market in real time, discover the story behind any yacht and find the best deals on the market with big data.
Photos by Julien Hubert
The 83m concept Comète comes from the A Group designer Thibaud Le Merdy and yachting director Matt Pegrum. <iframe width=560 height=315 src=https://www.youtube.com/embed/pjco2ulDBXA title=YouTube video player frameborder=0 allow=accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture allowfullscreen></iframe>This design is the result of the perfect balance between spaces open to the surrounding nature and refined, clean forms. Spaces of the yacht were created to be the closest to the sea and what she can offer, without any hindrance. For the exterior design, A Group has worked on a dynamic and the beautiful silhouette without any compromise.The green technologies are also an important part of the project. The creators were closely monitoring the development of hydrogen fuel cells for the project. In addition to batteries for peak shaving and waste heat-recovery systems (for heating the swimming pool and hot water), which are already proven, the yacht can have an all-around efficient energy production and storage system.Her well-engineered hull form and sleek design made of lightweight materials (to reduce propulsion requirements) remain the most effective way to control the environmental footprint of the yacht.The hybrid solution for reduced consumption also makes it possible to redistribute space on the boat, offering the best place of the boat for guests.Comète can accommodate fourteen guests in seven cabins. Her top speed is 16 knots. Credits: A Group
April 14, 2021
At the La Spezia shipyard, Sanlorenzo is starting construction on the first unit of the superyacht 57Steel, which aims to be one of the new stars of the Sanlorenzo range; she will be equipped with a hybrid diesel/electric engine system. A sophisticated superyacht with an extreme cleanliness of form (something all Sanlorenzo ranges have), she is distinguished by a straight bow, providing an image of importance and decisiveness. The new 57Steel is an ambitious project, the result of intense typological experimentation carried out by the shipyard together with Studio Zuccon International Project, which has led to the creation of a 56.70-meter-long yacht with five decks and a tonnage of 1000 GT.The volumes doubled compared to the 52Steel, which have made it possible to offer indoor and outdoor spaces that are decidedly out of the ordinary for a model of this size and with unprecedented functional content.The innovative layout alters the traditional balance on board: the wheelhouse area, normally forward of the upper deck, has been relocated to an additional deck – a real bridge deck, as on larger yachts – thus making it possible to use the upper deck from a different perspective. This is where the owner's cabin is located, a 54-square-metre space overlooking the very large owner's deck, a private deck from which to enjoy an exclusive view over the infinite sea.The new layout has also made it possible to create a spacious full-beam VIP cabin forward of the main deck that can be used as a second owner's cabin. "The versatility of use that distinguishes the spaces on board is a key element of the 57Steel, which makes it possible to satisfy the many requests of a diverse and multicultural market like that of superyachts,” says Bernardo Zuccon. “A model in which there is no ostentation of the brand and whose external lines are defined and extremely fluid, transparent and clear, in which the language of the shipyard shines through. We can define the 57 Steel as a skilful balancing act between content and container.”The swimming pool, with its transparent floor, allows the passage of light into the environment below; the beach area is 110 square meters. The garage is placed at the bow and can accommodate tenders of up to 7.5 m and numerous toys.Sanlorenzo was founded in 1985 in Viareggio by yacht builder Gionvanni Jannetti. In 2005, Massimo Perrotti became the majority shareholder in the shipyard. Sanlorenzo builds yachts ranging from 28.60 to 62m in length. Credits: Sanlorenzo
April 14, 2021
The Morning Glory is Perini Navi's 48m sailing superyacht, famous for having Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch as a previous owner. This historic ketch, built in 1993 at the iconic Perini Navi shipyard in Viareggio, has been restored to her original splendor according to the wishes of her Italian owner. Through the Forza 5 company in Milan, Lusben was chosen to carry out the ten-year refit of the yacht.The Lusben team has painted the hull, living areas, and part of the aft cockpit. The generators were also replaced and almost half of the teak deck were refurbished. The refit went on for a total of five months and involved almost fifty workers in total, including direct employees and external suppliers who worked in cooperation with the crew. The owner is now ready to cruise the Mediterranean.Morning Glory is the first of six Perini Navi boats to be launched this season. The remaining five are currently undergoing refits at the Lusben facilities in Livorno and Viareggio, planned for delivery to their owners in the coming weeks.Lusben, with over 60 years of experience in the yacht refit sector, boasts facilities at which know-how, organization, attention to detail, and hospitality make up the foundation for the company philosophy. To further expand the range of services, in 2004 Lusben acquired a new site in Livorno in order to be able to operate on yachts of 120 meters in length. Credits: Lusben
April 14, 2021
Sea Coral 2 is the third hull in the award-winning Arcadia A105 series. Sea Coral 2 is a 31.5 m long, 7.76 m wide yacht. The hull and deck are built in fibreglass, while some of the veranda’s elements are made with aluminium. All this adds up with a full load displacement of 145 tonnes. The interior decor was created in collaboration with the owner's personal designer and the support of Milan-based Hot Lab firm. "Yet another achievement that underlines how, for Arcadia Yachts, furnishing does not simply mean placing a designer sofa or table on board – it means carefully choosing every detail to enhance the functionality and aesthetics of our yachts,” says Francesco Ansalone, Arcadia Yachts Marketing & Communications manager. "In the case of the Sea Coral 2, we enriched our experience working closely with the designer chosen by the owner and the professional support of Hot Lab design studio," he adds."Having carried out many prestigious projects in some of the most beautiful places in the world, such as Saint-Tropez, Paris, Formentera, Val d'Isère, Casa de Campo, etc. I had no doubts about accepting the task of working on board an Arcadia A105," says Alain Perrier, the owner's designer. “If there is one yacht that makes a difference, it is this one: low on the water, with a sleek profile and a modern design. The Arcadia A105 represents the art of experiencing relaxation, comfort and safety on board an exceptional yacht. That's why I wanted to preserve the spirit and concept of the shipyard, while adding the owner's personality through the decor."The open aft cockpit on the main deck is openThe living hall on the upper deckThe inner bow area of the main deck could be used either as an office or as a second VIP cabinThe large living area at the centre of the main deckAnother view of the main living area on the main deckOne of the twin guest cabins on the lower deck, where the entire sleeping area is locatedThe full-beam owner's cabinThe reverse view of the owner's cabin highlights the TV’s central position: the owner’s access to the bathroom is to the right, while the door to the left leads to the walk-in wardrobeAfter the first few months cruising in the Mediterranean Sea, Sea Coral 2 has crossed the ocean and is now in the Caribbean. Arcadia Yachts is based in Naples, Italy. Since 2008, they have been building semi-custom luxury composite yachts and have succeeded in perfectly integrating artisanal craftsmanship, modern technologies, attention to detail and to the surrounding environment. The Arcadia Yachts fleet has included two ranges since September 2016. The shipyard’s first and most characterising range is the A range, which includes four models (A85, A85s, A105, and A115).The Sherpa range has a new model, the 24m Sherpa XL, which was launched at the 2019 Cannes Yachting Festival. Credits: Arcadia Yachts/Alberto Cocchi
April 13, 2021
Camper & Nicholsons has announced the in-house sale of 48.77m Elaldrea+, with Fernando Nicholson and Tommaso Bilotta representing both the seller and the buyer.Delivered in October 2018 by Benetti, Elaldrea+ is a tri-deck yacht designed by Horacio Bozzo Design in partnership with the Benetti Style Department. With a six-stateroom arrangement and the capacity to accommodate twelve guests. She has a 60-square-meter owner’s suite with automatic sliding balcony door, and two 25-square-meter VIP suites. Her interior finishes make use of distinguished materials such as Canaletto walnut, Tanganyika woodwork and various marbles. Elaldrea+ also features a beach club and two separate pool areas: a 4-meter pool located on her 115 square meter flybridge and another forward of the wheelhouse that can be filled with either seawater or freshwater. This forward pool can also house a 3.4m crew tender, while the main garage can house a 6.3m tender. Her top speed is 16 knots, and she’s all ready for new adventures with her new owners.Credits: Camper & Nicholsons
April 13, 2021